Journal Entry 4

10th May 2012
Scribe: Skor (Nathaniel)

Today's entry is a grim one. We lost Auder and Loblo.

This still comes as a shock to us. Why did Loblo do it? Iggy has left to the tavern to drown his sorrows... I think it probably left him traumatized. Gummi and I have tried to make the best of it. To be honest, we don't know what we're going to do now.

It all started this morning, as we woke up early on the request of the monks we were camping with. One of them suggested we join them for their daily morning meditations and sparring exercises; we obliged. It took us a while, but ultimately we succeeded and we were quite well rewarded for our efforts.

We finally made it to the Saline Settlements. As we walked into the main camp of the monks, we were greeted by a venerable-looking orcish High Monk. To the side, I noticed that their Oracle had made some sort of a prophecy:


 * "Searing Light, Cold Goes The Trail,
 * The Quest For You Will Surely Fail,
 * One Has Lied, Two Will Die,
 * Three Believe, Four will cry,
 * Five will cause you great travail,
 * Will the six of you prevail?"

Though we were told to dismiss it as utter nonsense, who knew this would actually come true? I shudder at the thought of it.

We took a short break and went to the civil part of town. There, we restocked on our provisions, and as we headed to the local tavern, we noticed a dwarf sitting along the alleyway, offering us to play a game of chance of shots.

I took my chances and I actually won! 200 gold pieces for drinking three shots, and it only cost me one gold piece per shot. What were the odds of that? But I do admit, the shots were pretty strong stuff. Gummi and Iggy didn't do too well though.

However, despite my near-drunken stupor, I did notice something amiss: Iggy's coin-pouch started floating away! I quickly grabbed it, and soon we discovered that Gummi lost a few potions. Knowing that it wasn't safe to stay in the alleyway (even in bright daylight), we retreated back to the safety of the monks' camp.

As we recovered, we were instructed to locate the Blade of Dettol that appeared in one of the five shrines dedicated to Dettol further in the desert towards the Brightlands. The Blade, as it is called, is a beam of searing light that is to be used to cleanse the relic, in preparation for containing the Tears of Evian. However, we were not given any clues to which of the five shrines would contain the Blade, so we had no choice but to search each shrine. Since Lenora felt sick and Loblo was missing, we decided to depart without them.

We managed to reach the first shrine, and although it did not contain the Blade, it was magnificent. Stone untouched by man but formed in the most pristine and well-weathered manner, these shrines were a beauty to behold. Despite being in the harsh searing desert, some vegetation actually managed to grow around the shrine.

As we were about the leave, we noticed a small figure running towards us, and we realized that it was Loblo. Gummi pointed out that he was being chased by something. Turned out to be one of those gelatinous cubes.

It was a tough fight. As I fired my arrow, to our horror, the cube split into another of the exact same size. Gummi attempted to use her axe, but that made things worse too. In the end, I had to borrow Iggy's quarterstaff and we all managed to bludgeon the rest of the cubes. The acid did hurt quite bad though.

But now begins the tragedy. As we recovered, we set off towards the second shrine. Not long after, we felt the ground shake, though we could not determine what it was. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the ground sunk and a fissure formed. Iggy fell in and Auder and I tried to save him, but alas to no avail. The three of us fell into the pit, only to discover some sort of a large cavernous tunnel system.

As Loblo and Gummi made their way down, we noticed some jeweled veins. After much attempts, I managed to dislodge (but also accidentally shattering the gem in the process) an amethyst from a vein. But as soon as that happened, we heard a loud roar, and we all agreed it was time to leave.

We attempted to climb back out the hole. Auder, since he was wearing his half-plate armor, had the most trouble trying to climb out. Iggy, Loblo, Gummi and I managed to climb out, and we lowered a rope in order to aid Auder.

However, as unfortunately fate would have it, Loblo decided he had other plans. The mingy bastard leapt in, cut the rope and Auder and himself fell back into the pit. He then stole the relic and made off into the tunnels. As we tried to rescue Auder, who went unconscious from the fall, we had a shock of our lives as suddenly, out from the other opening of the tunnel, a giant purple sandworm burrowed through the section. We were too late.

As the worm disappeared into the darkness, we looked back into the pit and we noticed that the sand all around the area had turned into glass! Fearing for the worst, we saw no signs of Auder. He was gone. Loblo wouldn't have survived that either.

We trudged back to the camp, and broke the tragic news to the High Monk.

It is discomforting to know that part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. So much for 'utter nonsense'. For now, we have no choice but to wait for further instructions, but what I do know is that the relic is still missing. Since it's been said that it's indestructible, we will definitely have to try and recover it.